


Then Came You

by saltyfandombrat



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men First Class - Fandom
Genre: Anger, Canon Jewish Character, Cherik - Freeform, Erik-centric, Fix-It, Fluff, Found Family, Helplessness, Holocaust, M/M, Rage and Serenity, Sadness, Sugarcoated Gay Story, X-men First Class, brief suicide mentions, canon character death, canon suicide attempt, mutant family, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24305083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltyfandombrat/pseuds/saltyfandombrat
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: Banned Banned Together Bingo 2020, Banned Together Bingo 2020





	Then Came You

All of his life, Erik Lehnsherr had thought he was entirely on his own, that he would never find anyone like himself. For years, he had wallowed in his own anger and pain, letting it consume his very being at one point. The problem he found with it was that it was a painful cycle to fall prey to, the longer he remained alone only further solidified the thought that he would be that way forever and that he was unworthy of anything better. Then he got to the point where he could no longer control his anger, but he also couldn't allow himself to become attached to anything positive, he was completely driven by his negative emotions. That same endless cycle was breaking him apart every moment that it continued on, it was destroying him that he didn't have the strength to do anything about it, and that powerless feeling hurt even more than the actual cycle of it all. After the childhood he had, he swore that he would never be made to feel that helpless ever again and years later, Shaw was still making him feel that way without even being near him.

That was until Charles Xavier came crashing into his life, hitting him like a brick wall of new and powerful emotions that he couldn't explain to himself. At his lowest point, as he was clinging desperately to the chains on Shaw's submarine and willing to lay down his life if it meant he had the chance to stop him, Charles was grabbing onto him. Getting inside of his mind and forcing them both up out of the water, they rose to the surface and were finally able to breath again, Erik's lungs burning as they were finally filled with oxygen once again. As they gasped and struggled in the water there, Charles had given him three words that changed everything about his situation. "You're not alone" had brought up feelings that Erik had thought he would never get to experience again. He had flashes of his mother, of happier times, of all the hope that he had before it was ripped away from him during the Holocaust. All of a sudden, breathing felt even harder for him to do and it was no longer just because of the water that had been inside of his lungs. 

Those blue eyes seemed to stare straight into Erik's soul as they floated there in the water, his voice still echoing inside of his head while tears burned behind both of their eyes. It was silent between them except for the gentle sounds of the sea that rocked them back and forth, his entire body feeling numb as he considered everything that was going on. What it all would mean for him and his future. He had always been so sure that his future would only consist of his anger, killing Shaw and then nothing after that, he believed he would get his revenge and spend his days alone. Then, Charles was right there and telling him that he would never have to be alone again, completely changing everything he thought he knew about his world. It was confusing and terrifying all at once, the idea that this man had seen everything inside of his head, things he hadn't even thought about in years. That made another rush of emotion fill his body as he tried to focus his thoughts away from anything that he didn't want this stranger to be able to see. 

Then they had gone away together, they had gathered up mutants and he was even less alone than he had been before. They rounded up a group of young children, ones who were happy and so full of life, those who had not yet had life rip away their youthful joy. All of them still had their hope and the naïve idea that the world was laid before them, even the ones who had harder life, they hadn't truly experienced trauma before and that was such an odd thing to see for Erik. Even odder was when Charles brought him to the middle of "rage and serenity" as he called it, bringing forth one of his happiest memories that he didn't even remember he had. Watching his last Hanukah with his mother playing out in front of him had brought burning tears behind his eyes, crying as he watched himself lighting the menorah, his mother's smiling face watching him. She looked so proud of him and he suddenly felt like he was right back there in the water once again, crying and unable to breathe in front of this man he barely knew. 

Right after, Charles had been right about him and he had been able to move the satellite on its very axis, but without the fuel of anger that he had in every other instance of using his gift. It was the first time he was able to smile after using his powers, laughing even with tears in his eyes, amazed and thankful that he had been able to do something like that. Everything was so unlike the life he had been leading so far. The joy in that moment was exactly why he wasn't surprised when he realized that he had deeper feelings for Charles later on, liking someone for the first time since he couldn't remember when, but he was surprised when his feelings were returned. They had kissed a few times while playing chess, sharing more than a few drinks and sweet nothings that Erik didn't think he was capable of. That was so sweet and domestic for him, it was nothing that he thought he would ever be partaking in, he had always laughed at the notion of being so sweet with someone and mocked the very idea of being so romantic. 

Whether or not Erik thought he deserved everything that he was getting, Charles seemed to think that he did and even though he didn't quite understand why, he was thankful for it. All he needed was someone to make him feel alive again, like he actually had something to keep hoping for and someone to take care of, Charles gave him all of that and so much more. It was the moments when they were laid together in bed, the soft sunlight pouring over Charles' pale skin in the early mornings, the younger man curled up in his arms. Those were the times when he felt the most alive and as though he was an entirely different man than he had been before he met Charles, the times when he could just lay with his lover and shut out everything beyond those four walls. Until one of their kids came bursting into the bedroom with some wild idea or the sounds of teenagers waking up in the other parts of the house interrupted them. As much as Erik complained, he lived for those mornings too, it gave his heart a weird tight feeling. 

This was his new family and it was so surreal for him to have that again, he had given up all hope of that after his mother had been killed, yet here they were. Here was Charles and his kids, looking up to him as they hugged or practically begging to be around him. Even Alex was warming up to them, the young man reminded Erik so much of himself that he made an extra point of taking care of him specifically. He knew the kind of pain that was brought by being hurt and remaining angry at the world, being upset about all that was taken from a person and all that they thought they should be given, but weren't. That was never something he wanted for the kids, they all deserved to be in better places than he had been. So, he did all that he could for Alex. Erik made sure that took care of him and showed him that he was not alone in his thoughts, just like Charles had done for him and he hoped that was going to be enough to make the younger man open up to them, just as his own heart had reopened that night in the water. 


End file.
